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Sunday, May 12, 2013

Cryotherapy is....interesting....

What is cryotherapy you ask? You can read the technical definition here but I will give you my real world explanation of it....

I've been wanting to try cryotherapy for quite some time now. The technology behind it is relatively new to the commoners, but has been tested for several years in research labs around the world as well as the highly regarded Nike training facility for professional athletes. The Dallas Mavericks actually called it their "secret weapon" when they won the championship a few years back. Cryotherapy has a ton of amazing benefits for your body including your skin, energy levels, major benefits for people who suffer from any form of arthritis, and most importantly for me - injury treatment and recovery. The reason I hadn't started it sooner is because of the cost...$80 per session (you need about 2-3 sessions per week to get good results) quickly adds up. Luckily, I actually found a deal on Groupon for a local wellness center/spa in Addison that was offering three sessions for $99 - SOLD!

I made my first appointment for Saturday after my 10+10 = 20 miles workout had completed and boy was I ready for some cryo! Brandon dropped me off at Veda Light Wellness Center. I had called the day before to ask if I needed to bring anything and the lady said, all you will be wearing is a pair of cotton socks. Ummmmm, yikes! The lady at Veda (who was super nice) walked me through the process and explained what was going to happen.. After putting on my birthday suit (and sexy cotton socks) I hopped into something similar to this bad boy:

Once inside, I had my wireless clicker that I pushed that notified staff I was ready. If you are claustrophobic and want to do this, I'd highly recommend some sort of mild sedative or something because it's pretty darn creepy being inside that thing. Once she came into the room, she lifted me up so that my head was sticking out of the top of it and I had to place my fingers on the top so that they didn't fall off....not kidding. I was given the "you can tell me to stop at any time" speech and off we went! It starts off gradual but then makes its way to -220 degrees...holy mother of all things, COLD! Pretty sure it looked a little like this:

(I have mad photo-shopping skills if you couldn't tell)

The first 30 seconds were by far the worst but once you go numb it's not so bad really. She stayed in the room and talked to me which made the 2.5 minutes go by pretty quickly. Before I knew it, we were all done! I was lowered back into the tube and it kind of reminds me of one those capsules you use at the bank drive-thru that then shoots up and back down to transport your checks back and forth.

When I left the spa my body was still a little cold but warmed up pretty quickly. Low and behold I did notice an energy kick and was feeling pretty good. Of course my aches and pains caused from my injuries had subsided a little bit, but it's going to take a few sessions before I hopefully start to see a significant improvement.

My doctor had suggested I look into cryotherapy so when I visit him this week I'm sure he'll be happy to hear that I actually followed orders. I'm hoping to get two more sessions in this week and then continue sessions up until the marathon and a little afterwards. For someone who cannot stand being cold, it truly wasn't all that bad, but it definitely doesn't fall into the relaxing category either.